Live From New York — It’s MM&M Awards Judging Time!

In June, a small gathering of highly regarded healthcare marketers will meet in a Park Avenue conference center in Manhattan to face a daunting task — select recipients of 2017 MM&M Awards.

These jurors will debate the merits of hundreds of incredibly clever, meticulously planned and exquisitely designed campaigns and their assets to determine who wins these highly coveted awards at the October ceremony. I’m honored and humbled to have been invited by MM&M to serve as a live juror at this June gathering.

The MM&M awards are among the most respected in the healthcare marketing industry. Agencies from around the world compete in nearly three dozen categories to determine best-in-class media and brand programs, outstanding visual and strategic creativity, and exceptional performance within agency teams.

“Awards can give you a tremendous amount of encouragement to keep getting better, no matter how young or old you are.” Actor Alan Alda

“I win my awards at the box office.” Director Cecil B. DeMille

I thoroughly analyze the contestants’ data and creative to evaluate their impact and how the campaigns and tactics moved the needle for the brands and consumers. This performance-driven philosophy is fundamental to what I do every day at Arteric. Everything at Arteric revolves around driving results that truly matter to our clients’ business needs. It’s why we focus on determining which data points and KPIs matter most to our clients’ businesses and then build assets to deliver on them. We believe that our work should be measured, analyzed, and judged against real-world results.

"As we become better, more-efficient, more-creative communicators, we ultimately enhance the entire industry’s ability to connect with patients and healthcare providers."

One point is unequivocal — there’s tremendous value in gathering with talented peers to analyze the industry’s latest thinking and gauge where it’s heading. Selecting the best work and celebrating at an event puts everyone on notice to the new standards. The cliché is that a rising tide floats all boats. As we become better, more-efficient, more-creative communicators, we ultimately enhance the entire industry’s ability to connect with patients and healthcare providers. As jurors, we establish new baselines and drive innovation and creativity industry wide.

I’ve served as an online juror for the MM&M awards since 2014. The experience was exceptionally rewarding. Discussing and debating the approaches behind the next generation of best practices in person with the industry’s creative and strategic elite is undeniably icing on the cake.

For these reasons, I enthusiastically approach next month’s gathering of jurors and the earth-shaking ideas that will be my privilege to evaluate. Would I love to see more awards on display at Arteric? Sure, what agency wouldn’t? But even then, my favorite awards will remain those that don’t sit on a shelf or hang from a wall — it’s knowing that the work we do every day improves peoples’ lives and helps them to live longer, healthier, and happier.